Audio clip
Nina Ventra
The East Chattanooga Weed and Seed group wants all your unwanted over-the-counter and prescription medications.
"We're not going to arrest anybody," said Nina Ventra, the organization's outreach coordinator. "We know that there may be a parent out there who has found something in their teenagers' room and not know what to do with it. They can bring it and drop it off. We will dispose of it properly."
The organization is hosting a drug disposal program from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Those who want to get rid of unneeded medications may drive through the East Chattanooga Weed and Seed office parking lot on McCallie Avenue and drop off the drugs.
No needles, intravenous bags or radioactive medications will be accepted.
The event is hosted by East Chattanooga Weed and Seed, a nonprofit organization funded by a $1 million grant doled out over five years by the U.S. Department of Justice. Weed and Seed grants are intended to alleviate crime in communities while starting programs for community improvement.
East Chattanooga received its grant in 2007.
Drug disposal organizers ask that any personal information on medicine bottles, such as names and addresses, be blotted out or removed. However, keep the name of the drug on the bottle so that it may be identified, Ms. Ventra said.
The program is similar to weapons collections programs in which law enforcement officers allow people to turn in guns with no questions asked, said Enrique Nieves, special agent group supervisor at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
Pharmaceutical representatives will identify if the drugs are narcotics, officials said. The DEA and Chattanooga Police Department will log the drugs and dispose of them in an incinerator specifically designed to handle potentially hazardous items without releasing toxins into the air or water supply, officials said.
The Tennessee-American Water Co. also is sponsoring the event in hopes of keeping Tennessee waterways more drug free, officials said. Flushing medications down the toilet can affect aquatic life and animals, officials said.
"The best water treatment is to prevent water pollution from ever entering the source," said Kim Dalton, spokeswoman for the water company.
Improperly disposing or storing drugs also can be dangerous in the home, Ms. Ventra said.
"To some children, pills could look like candy," she said.
Ms. Ventra also said it's easier for people to take the wrong drug if there are a lot of unneeded medications just sitting in a cabinet.
"If you can get rid of them (drugs), get rid of them safely," she said.
Yolanda Putman has been a reporter at the Times Free Press for 11 years. She covers housing and previously covered education and crime. Yolanda is a Chattanooga native who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama State University. She previously worked at the Lima (Ohio) News. She enjoys running, reading and writing and is the mother of one son, Tyreese. She has also ...
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